This beautiful city is located at the lower end of lake Thun. The river Aare flows through the city and about 20km further down passes the city of Berne. On a clear day a massive range of mountains towers high up on the other side of lake Thun.
The city has only about 44’000 inhabitants and is quite compact with a charming old town overlooked by a castle. Just taking a stroll through the city and across some of its many bridges, enjoying a drink in one of the many restaurants is a wonderful activity on a day off.
The small harbour just opposite the train station is a great starting point for an excursion with one of the boats on to few other places on lake Thun. The trip offers a magnificent perspective of the alps and ends up in Interlaken.
The city goes back to the day of the Romans, who were driven out of Thun and Switzerland by the Burgundians around 400 AD. The Aare became the border between the Burgundians who were Christians and the non-Christians on the northern side of the river. The town is first mentioned in 1133. Around 1190 the Duke Berthold V of Zähringen built the castle of Thun.
A Military School was founded in 1819 which became the main military school in Switzerland. Ruag is a defence, space and aviation company with its seat in Thun.
Today Thun is a modern city with a somewhat laid-back atmosphere. It hasn’t really been discovered by mass tourism yet. To me this is a must see place.
